The Godz
Godz 2

Whether you love them or hate them, they are hard to ignore…

They are the Godz - the first profanity used in rock - a group hailing from the American underground, the depths of New York City, from the neighborhoods of the most radical '60s counterculture. Originally a trio composed of Jim McCarthy, Larry Kessler, and Paul Thornton, at the time co-owners of a record store; in 1966 they were joined by Jay Dillon, a graphic designer and illustrator for the music industry. Of the four, only Thornton and McCarthy regularly play, the first being a guitarist, drummer, and singer – the second a guitarist, singer, and writer of beat songs - the other two dabble with various instruments but can't tell a C from a D.

Their debut album “Contact High wit da Godz” (1966) shocked critics and audiences alike, receiving terrible reviews, described as a group of rock noisemakers (even by their own admission); few, however, realized that these four clean-faced lunatics, who had escaped from some asylum, were mocking the British beat, and doing so quite well. Today, they are classified as the forerunners of punk-rock … maybe … but among their insults to pop, one can discern the early signs of a violent stance within the music movement linked to “psychedelia”; Red Krayola, Mick Farren, Twink, Amon Düül and Faust would be their most evident followers, at least in intent.

In 1967, their second album was released, simply titled “Godz 2” … a rather bizarre collection of songs at the edge of audibility, at the edge of musicality, on the edge of everything that was and is allowed in pop. Dillon had by then become (but would remain so for a short time) the philosopher of the band, the one laying the foundations for these free improvisations based on free rock and all sorts of sarcasm, playing the electric organ, the autoharp, and occasionally using his voice to warble or spew subtle, veiled, and ironic insults. Kessler uses the bass and electric guitar in a not-so-orthodox manner, also fiercely scratching the strings of the violin and viola, under the influence of alcohol, howling crude songs made up of simple phrases repeated, repeated, and repeated. McCarthy strums the guitar, blows into the recorder and harmonica without worrying too much about what the studio's recorder is capturing. Thornton, on his part, uses percussion in the manner of free jazz drummers, between the practice of randomness and Afro-American percussionism; listen for example to the track “Soon the Moon”, perhaps the only one on the entire record that vaguely recalls American psychedelic rock.

The music is dreamy in “Permanent Green Light”, obsessive in “Squeek”, distorted and dissonant in “Where”, tribal and carefree in “Riffin”, drunk in “New Song”, degenerate in the long “Crusade” (a mini-suite with more than a few nods to black avant-garde and development towards rock & roll), at other times more accessible like in “Radar Eyes” and the playful cover “You Won’t See Me”, where they unashamedly assault the Beatles of “Rubber Soul”. There are some references to American folk as well, deliberately distorted, in “Travelling Salesman”, a self-celebratory song of Kessler who roams the underground markets trying to make ends meet by selling used LPs.

Amidst coughs, searing shouts, yells of a metropolitan Tarzan, cacophonous and violent noises, notes that have lost all their qualities, the record sounds quite harsh and wicked, practically indecipherable, but at the same time fascinating, incredibly powerful even without the use of rhythm or cadence.

The Godz would remain anchored to this “free-form” / “freak-out” (paraphrasing the Red Crayola) for a little while longer, following Jay Dillon's departure, the band would fall under the control of Jim McCarthy and Paul Thornton who would produce “easy listening rock” albums, completely abandoning experimentation (or improvisation, if you prefer).

Not recommended for rock puritans, there is little to understand !!! a lot to listen to !!! ideally at a very high volume !!!